Monday, December 31, 2012

FtA: The System: Skill Checks and Combat

The last System-based post dealt with the System as it relates to Opposed Rolls and Attribute Checks. Following up on that, I wanted to run through some scenarios that deal with Skills, and then walk through Combat.

Each player's Skill Level has a Rank between 1 and 5. When an Attribute Check intersects with a Skill, the Skill Rank is subtracted from the roll.

Marcus is attempting to track a fugitive through the woods. This is a Wisdom based activity, and Marcus has an 11 in Wisdom. The fugitive is more interested in getting away than hiding his trail, so the fugitive's Dexterity is used as the opposing roll. The fugitive is not terribly agile, having a Dexterity of only 6, but he rolls a 2, resulting in a Distance of 4. Marcus rolls a 9, making his Distance a 2. Ordinarily, this would result in a Difference of 2 in favor of the fugitive, and a Degree of Minimum Failure for Marcus. However, Marcus has 3 Ranks in Hunting. As such his modified roll is a 6, giving him a Distance of 5. This changes the Difference to 1 in favor of Marcus, and a Degree of Minimum Success for Marcus. He is able to catch sight of the fugitive at the edge of the treeline.

Skills also allow for the result of a roll to enter into the negative, increasing the likelihood of higher Differences, and thus higher Degrees of Success.

Marcus attempts to take a shortcut to head the fugitive off at the other side of the treeline. This requires an Intelligence check. Because Marcus has been focused on the fugitive and not so much on where he is, the GM rules that this will be a more difficult check. Rather than make this an opposed roll, he decides that there is a Target Number involved. He sets the Target Number at 12, and rolls a 2, for a Distance of 10. Marcus is of middling wit, with an Intelligence of 11. Ordinarily, this would present a problem for Marcus, for even if he rolled a 1, it would result in a tie, forcing him to try again the following round. However, fortunately for Marcus, he also is skilled in Navigation, possessing 4 Ranks in the Skill. The fates smile upon him, and he rolls a 2, and then subtracts 4, giving him a modified score of -2, and a Distance of 13. The Difference is 3 in Marcus' favor, giving him a Degree of Average Success.
Combat works in much the same manner. Per usual, Strength is used to determine Melee attacks, while Dexterity is used to determine Ranged attacks.

Once the manner of Combat is chosen, the Player rolls an Attribute Check, per usual. Anyone can attack with any weapon, with no penalty. However, Players can choose specific weapons, and become Skilled in their use, in which case the rules above apply. Just as with other Skills, rolls can be modified into the negative.

The recipient of an attack has three choices. They can Dodge, they can Soak, or they can Parry.

Dodging means exactly that - the player attempts to get out of the way of the attack. Dodging is a Dexterity based maneuver, and is handled per usual. Minimum Successes result in half damage, Average Successes result in no damage, but the loss of the next action, and a Great Success results in no damage, and no loss of action.

Grog, you will recall, has an 18 Strength, and is attacking Marcus with a street sign, a chunk of concrete still attached to its base. Marcus is quite nimble, however, and has a Dexterity of 15. Grog rolls a 12, resulting in a Distance of 6. Marcus rolls a 4, resulting in a Distance of 11 - a Great Success. Marcus is able to dodge out of the way of Grog's lumbering strike, unscathed.
Soaking means that the player will allow their armor and natural toughness to attempt to mitigate the damage of the attack. Soaking is a Constitution based defense, but allow the player to modify their roll by their Armor score. Armor is rated between 1 and 5, with 5 being the equivalent to full body armor. Minimum Successes result in Half Damage, and the loss of 1 points of Armor Rating. Average Successes result in no damage, but still the loss of 1 point of Armor Rating. Great Successes result in no damage, and no loss of Armor Rating.

Marcus strikes back at Grog using a long shank of jagged metal, which he has put 3 Skill Points into. Unfortunately, he only has a Strength of 9. He rolls a 4, resulting in a modified roll of 1, giving him a Distance of 8. Grog steps into the blow, determined not to let Marcus get away. Grog has a Constitution of 14, and rolls a 7, giving him a Distance of 7. However, he has a stop sign hung around his neck, which has an Armor Rating of 2. His modified roll is a 5, giving him a Distance of 9, resulting in a Difference of 2 - a Minimum Success. Grog's stop sign is damaged, and now only provides an Armor Rating of 1, and he takes half damage from the attack.
Parrying is a maneuver only available when using melee weapons, and even then, the Player must be Skilled in the use of that weapon in order to use the maneuver. It is a Strength based maneuver, and any Skill points put into the use of that weapon are applied. In the event of a Minimum Success, the defender takes half damage, while an Average Success indicates no damage. A Great Success results in no damage, and the defender is allowed a counterattack, and the victim of that counterattack may only Soak the damage.

Grog gives a yell, enraged by the sight of his own blood, swings the street sign over his head before bringing it down in a crushing attack. He rolls a 17, resulting in a Distance of 1. Marcus raises the metal shard above his head in an attempt to divert the blow, and rolls a 4, and with the 3 points he put into the weapon's use, he has a modified roll of 1. His Strength is a 14, resulting in a Distance of 13, and a Difference of 12 in his favor, a Degree of Great Success. The pole meets the blade and skitters down its length before crashing to the ground beside Marcus, who is able to use the momentum to swing at Grog's exposed side. He rolls a 4, applies his 3 Skill points for a Modified roll of 1, and with his Strength of 9, he has a Distance of 8. Grog rolls a 12, though, and his stop sign's remaining Armor Rating of 1 gives him a Modified Roll of 11, resulting in a Distance of 3 compared to his Constitution of 14. The end result is a Difference of 5, in Marcus' favor, an Average Success. Grog's stop sign bears the brunt of the blow, but Marcus still draws blood. Grog suffers half damage, and the stop sign is now useless as armor.